Mesmerizing Inuit artist Tanya Tagaq has announced a new album, the follow-up to her breathtaking Polaris Prize winning album Animism. Two years on from its release, the aptly titled Retribution is described as being “even more musically aggressive, more aggressively political”, an album informed, documenting and protesting environmental and human rights violations and abuse, and many other issues that affect all of us. Retribution “is about rape: rape of women, rape of the land, rape of children, despoiling of traditional lands without consent”, says the press release, “it’s about rejecting the toxic, militaristic outlook that’s taken over the world since the rise of Western industrial capitalism, and is rapidly destroying human life support systems through climate change and pollution.”

To bring the record to life, Tagaq collaborated with a slew of stellar artists, including violinist Jesse Zubot, who also produced the record, drummer Jean Martin, Tuvan throat singer Radik Tyülyüsh, rapper Shad, traditional Inuk singer Ruben Komangapik, and her own young daughter Inuuja.

Retribution arrives on October 21st in North America and November 18th in Europe via Six Shooter but we can already hear the first single. The poignant and intense ‘Aorta’, previously shared as an accompaniment to footage shot at the Emmanuel Vigeland Museum in Oslo, Norway, is now streaming.

We love Tanya Tagaq‘s breathtaking third album Animism to bits. The effort came out in the UK/Europe a year ago, following an earlier release in North America. The immensely talented Inuit throat singer released last November a new mighty track called ‘Aorta’.  As the press release puts it, ‘Aorta’ “goes deeper into the body, to a place where we can feel the pulse, the rush and the ebb of life itself”. Produced by violinist Jesse Zubot, ‘Aorta’ was composed to accompany footage shot at the Emmanuel Vigeland Museum in Oslo, Norway. Tagaq had this to say about it:

“This video was made to pay homage to Emmanuel Vigeland, whose frescos fill his own mausoleum. The frescos depict life from conception to death. This penetration of the unsaid philosophies of life in conjunction with the outstanding acoustics of the room has inspired my own work since visiting there in 2002. Hopefully we encapsulate the darkness and the light to his liking.”

Watch the video for ‘Aorta’ below.

Tanya Tagaq is offering a striking visual accompaniment for the tremendous ‘Uja’. The track is taken from her groundbreaking and tantalizing third album Animism, which won the Polaris Music Prize last year and the award for Aboriginal Album of the Year at the 2015 Juno Awards.
The video was directed by Manitoba’s Procter Bros, and it “presents the same stark instabilities, frailties, dangers and violence as evoked by the song”, as the press release describes. Watch it now.

Tanya Tagaq is performing a special show in London on May 19th at Village Underground.

We’ve had our ears on Tanya Tagaq for a while now. The tantalizing Canadian Inuit throat singer released recently her third album, Animism, a groundbreaking effort that won the prestigious Polaris Music Prize last year and the award for Aboriginal Album of the Year at the 2015 Juno Awards.
So we’re delighted to know that Tanya’s music is gracing a gorgeous stop motion short film, The Lion’s Teeth, directed by her friend Emilio Rojas. Here’s what he had to say about it:

“Last summer I collected 10,000 dandelion flowers, approximately 300,000 seeds. Since then I’ve been working them in my artistic practice, and ‘The Lion´s Teeth’ is one of the results from these explorations.

I was introduced to Tanya by a childhood friend of hers at her performance of Nanook of the North, in 2014. I was deeply moved by her show, it really struck a chord, and I spent most of the concert in tears. I started listening to her music as a source of creativity, and during the collection of the dandelions, I would listen to her work while gathering the seeds. Her voice was one of the sources of inspiration for this yearlong project and it kept me going through this extremely laborious and strenuous process.

I finished the video last week and showed it to Tanya. She was really excited about it and asked me if she could share it, which is a total honour.”

Watch ‘The Lion’s Teeth’ below.

In other related good news, Tanya Tagaq is performing a special show in London on May 19th at Village Underground.

Animism is out now via Six Shooter Records.

Last year, Canadian Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq released her outstanding third album, Animism, to wide acclaim in North America. The album was awarded Canada’s prestigious Polaris Music Prize last September.

Animism is a tremendous album, amalgamating Tagaq’s impressive and exquisite vocals with a multitude of traditional and experimental sounds and cultural influences. As the press release describes, Animism “features Tagaq’s fusion of electronics, avant-garde composition, classical expressionism, Inuit throat singing and highly political undertones, underlining the struggle for Aboriginal rights in Canada.”

Animism is set to be released for the first time in the UK/Europe later this month via Six Shooter Records.

The opening track ‘Caribou’, a cover of the classic Pixies’ track, was the first single released from the album and now Tagaq has shared another tantalizing cut, ‘Uja’. You should listen to both and grab the album when it drops on January 26th.

In other related good news, Tanya Tagaq has announced a one-off show in London at Village Underground on May 19th. Tickets are now available here.